maybe that's the reason I've been acting so co-o-old

Last week I had to write and give a speech on "which modern city is best suited to people's habitation". Mine began (in Chinese):

Generally speaking, modern cities are not suited to people's habitation, but rather are suited to rats, cockroaches, and other such vermin.

Well, the cool thing about Taipei is that it's located on this crazy, wild, little island. It's sometimes easy to forget when you are surrounded by hundreds of motorcycles, fashionable Taiwanese girls, and several 24/7 convenience stores each block. But soon enough, even in the middle of the city, you catch a glimpse of a weird bird, subtropical plants, or mountains looming in the background. Maybe you'll discover a new species of fish at the open air market. Maybe you'll discover something less pleasant in your tasty ice drink. In any case, you are always closer than you think to nature and all of the wild things that encompasses. You don't have to get far out of Taipei before people start speaking Taiwanese and, apparently, stop reading. And there are plenty of escapes from the city close by or even in the city, with which I'm slowly becoming familiar.

Last weekend, Nick and I went to the Botanical Gardens to enjoy nature and learn about the Important Woody Plants:




There are some really cool plants and trees (with funny names) that really make you feel like you are suddenly transported to the middle of the rain forest. Some of the places I remember running around when I was little:



The lake and museum are popular with budding artists who come here to practice:


My favorite are the water plants, you can see some really cool birds there and water plants are just really relaxing.

We also went to Fulong Beach, one of the most popular beaches in Taiwan. The beach wasn't too crowded, though it was a little dirty (especially since there was recently a typhoon). Playing in the surf was really fun and the temple and mountains provided nice background scenery:



Here's another section of the beach:



You can see a biker, apparently Fulong has fun bike paths and connects to the Caoling Historic trail, aka really great hiking, so I'll definitely try to return soon.

Tuesday was Teacher's Day, which is celebrated with a big ceremony at Confucius Temple. I was too lazy to wake up for the real ceremony (which I think starts letting people in around 5:30 am), so instead I went to the dress rehersal, which is exactly the same but less crowded, not attended by the president, and in the afternoon when I am awake:



The red guys play traditional Chinese instruments:


Including a huge drum:


The purple guys lead the ceremony, flipping the yellow thing which names the 37 steps of the ceremony:


If you don't get nauseous easily (I may not have really been paying attention... recording is shaky to say the least...), you can see part of the cool dance the yellow feather guys get to do:

If you don't feel like watching my shaky handiwork, you can just see the cool (and stationary) part at the end where they bow:


Confucius temple in Taipei is one of the few temples that still does all 37 steps of the ceremony, just like they did back in the day (the day of feudalism and other good stuff, that is). This sparked controversy over whether the ceremony somehow implied that the President of Taiwan was like an emperor/was being worshiped, but in any case it was definitely like being transported back in time (ok, minus all the cameras and television crews).

Friday, after a long week of school, celebrating teachers, etc. I decided to climb Elephant Mountain! This was completely unplanned but I finally know enough about where things are and how to get to them that I could stop at Subway to pick up a sandwich, then hop on a bus to the entrance to the road to Elephant Mountain. Climbing Elephant Mountain is not so much a hike as it is a lot a lot a lot of stairs. Racing to make it to the top so I could get a good view of the sunset, I was embarrassingly exhausted by the short (15 minute?) climb, which is easy enough for toddlers and old people walking backwards:


Yes, for some reason older Taiwanese people like to descend backwards using a stick to check footing. And yes, that is a little girl beating me up the mountain.



This snail almost beat me, but I got a second wind.



(This says Elephant Mountain. Elephant Mountain natural sidewalk, to be precise).

The top of Elephant Mountain has a number of boulders you can climb for a really good view of the city. Photographers climb up in the early afternoon so that they can have the best boulder (the best view) when the sun sets. Most of the postcards you buy of Taipei 101 (the second highest building in the world, or depending on how you count things somewhere in the top 10) are taken from this viewpoint.

You can watch the sun set with me:







When night fell, the city looked pretty cool, too. You can see the Ferris Wheel (green circle on the right side) if you look closely:


I wanted to see the sunset completely so the climb down was a little creepy:


But I made it! What a great way to recuperate on a Friday evening, a spectacular view and worth every mosquito bite. It makes me so happy that I can make short trips like this in Taipei investing close to zero planning and zero money, and I want to make sure I keep doing things like this even when things get busy later in the quarter.

In conclusion, if you are the kind of person who occasionally needs some alone time with a mountain and the sunset, you should come visit me in Taipei! Had some more cool adventures today but that will have to come later, goodnight all!

[Note: I actually am here to study, not just eat lots of meat and enjoy nature. So, I may eventually also discuss that aspect of my life. Soonish]

[Second note: there are lots of links to the Taipei Times, because, besides being good for keeping up with things in these parts, IT'S THE FUNNIEST THING I'VE EVER READ! SERIOUSLY! there is a special treat for you if you read the Confucius ceremony article all the way to the end, or any article really, and that special treat is lots and lots of laughter]